(Google translation from Noticias Vlex.com)
The Congress of Deputies validated by a majority a number of fiscal stimulus initiatives aimed at the home rehabilitation sector that were included in the Royal Decree on Measures to Promote Economic Recovery and Employment, approved on Friday April 9 by the Council of Ministers.
The government expects that the tax package has a strong leverage effect on the construction sector, which together with other government initiatives, such as the reform agenda in public buildings to improve energy efficiency, “serve to contribute to employment generation.
These tax measures will help further the goal of efficiency and energy savings made by the Government in the framework of the Strategy of Sustainable Economy.
DEDUCTION FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION IN THE PIT
The first of these reforms is the new temporary income tax deduction for improvement works in the residence. This will be deducted up to 10% of the amounts to be invested between April 14, 2010 (date of entry into force of Decree-Law) and December 31, 2012 on actions to improve the residence, or building in which it is found, with a total limit of 12,000 euros per household. The annual limit per taxpayer is € 4,000.
To be eligible for this deduction the vast majority of taxpayers, with the exception of those with a higher tax base to 53007.20 euros, representing only 5% of the total. The deduction is most effective on taxpayers with taxable income exceeding 33007.20 per year, as they may apply the 10% deduction on the basis of the prescribed annual maximum of € 4,000 per taxpayer. As the income level of taxpayers go on increasing this limit, the basis of the deduction will be reduced to zero when it exceeds the taxable EUR 53007.20.
To optimize the effectiveness of tax incentives, will be allowed to the amounts paid by a taxpayer during a period that cannot be deduced by the application of the base annual maximum of 4,000 euros established, can be derived, with the same annual limit during the four subs.
In any case, the amount subject to deduction for all applicable tax periods that apply not exceed 12,000 euros per residence. In cases where there is more homeowners eligible for the deduction on a same property, the limit of 12,000 euros will be distributed among the joint owners according to their respective percentage ownership in the building.
In line with the provisions of the State Housing Plan and Rehabilitation 2009-2012, allowed to benefit from this new tax incentive works aimed at improving the energy efficiency of the home (installing solar panels, improved insulation of windows, change …), shower bath by consolidating security and sealing of buildings (replacement of facilities of electricity, water or gas), to improve the accessibility (lifts adapted to the needs of people with disabilities, installing ramps. ..) and install new telecommunications infrastructure to provide access to the Internet or digital television services in the homes of taxpayers.
On the contrary, works carried out in parking lots, gardens, swimming pools, sports facilities and other similar items shall not be entitled to deduct, nor will change of furniture of the kitchen cabinets do or wear, replace tiles, paint , throwing bricks or change soils.
It is important to note also that the incentive can be applied only on the amounts paid by credit or debit card, bank transfer, check or income accounts of credit institutions, not when the services are paid in cash. This caution has as main objective to collaborate in the prevention of tax evasion and labor.
Taxpayers may not get the benefits of this new tax relief from the Income tax Statement, 2010 (to be made in 2011) and therefore they cannot apply that in this exercise. It is therefore important to retain the invoices received by the work involved to justify the investment.
In this regard, it will be retained as proof of payment method chosen as the invoice, which shall contain the following information: number and number of the same, the date of issue and date of completion of the operation if two do not coincide, name and first name of the consignor and consignee, NIF and address of the consignor and, where appropriate, the consignee detailed description of the action taken, type or VAT rates and tax charged VAT.
REDUCED VAT RATE FOR REPAIR WORKS
The second major tax incentive is the reduced rate of 7% (8% from July 1) of the VAT for all types of renovation and repair of private housing to be made between 14 April 2010 31 December 2012. So far, the scheme only applied to the masonry, and the rest were applied to 16%. With this new framework, it will also benefit from the actions of plumbing, carpentry, installations and fittings, electricity or painting and, in general, all the reforms made in housing, whatever their purpose.
The Royal Decree establishes three requirements to qualify for the new tax scheme. First, the recipient is an individual and that the works are directed towards a particular purpose, and not a business or professional. This requirement will also operate when the recipient is a community of owners and the works are made in the building where is the private dwelling. Second, the construction or rehabilitation of housing where the works are finished at least two years before the start of the renovation or repair.
The third requirement is that the incentive applies to those who do not provide material works costing more than 33% of the taxable amount of the transaction. For example, if the work in question was the placement of the floor of a house and the same total cost amounted to $ 10,000, you may apply the reduced rate if the material used does not exceed 3,300 euros. If the materials provided exceed that amount, the rate applicable to such work is the normal 16%. Until the present Decree Law, the limit of the material was 20%.
The invoice must state the cost of materials supplied or the condition that this cost does not exceed 33% of the tax base.
EXTENSION OF THE CONCEPT OF REHABILITATION IN THE VAT
The other axis of action to promote the activity in the area of housing rehabilitation is extending the concept of structural rehabilitation for VAT purposes, through the definition of similar works and related to structural, which will reduce tax costs economic activity associated with rehabilitation.
The old law already took these concepts, but did not give them an adequate definition, which prevented, in many cases, the application of reduced rates in certain actions related to rehabilitation. The definition of these concepts in the decree law that goes into effect now will not only improve legal certainty for businesses, but will significantly reduce your tax costs.
So, since last April 14 and remain in force indefinitely extending the concept of structural rehabilitation, which applies the reduced rate of 7% (8% from July 1) to the works of rehabilitation of buildings, including premises attached garages, additional facilities, provided that more than 50% of the building is intended for private homes.
To be considered for rehabilitation, the cost of works should not exceed 25% of the purchase price of the building (if it was made in the two years prior to rehabilitation) or market value, less in both cases land value. Also, over 50% of the actions envisaged in the project will include reconstruction of the building or in carrying out similar works or related to those.
Consideration will be given to works like structural adjustment actions that serve to ensure stability and mechanical strength of the building, the reinforcement of the foundations, the expansion of built-up area, the reconstruction of facades and patios of interior and installation of elevators. Related works will be considered, for their part, masonry, plumbing and carpentry, measures to improve facilities and enclosures or energy rehabilitation works.
The decree provides, finally, the reform of the Canary Islands General Indirect Tax in the same sense that the VAT on materials which are appropriate to state regulation, so that the tax benefits resulting from these changes reach the entire territory.
Part-time employment in Spain rose 1.2 points in September 2009 
compared to the same period the year before, while in the EU, the increase stood at 8.0. The greatest increase took place in Ireland with a raise of 3.3 points upward which made this Country reach 21.2% of the employed population. Spain, according to the report stands as the sixth European country having less use of such contracts, followed by Portugal (10%), Poland (8.1%), Hungary (5.9%), Greece (5.8%) and Czech Republic (5.4%). The opposite of Spain placed Italy (14.1 per cent) and France (17%). Holland, with a 48.1% of the total number of part-time employees leads the generalization of this type of occupation with wide gap, followed by Sweden (26.2%), Germany (26.1%) and UK (25.9 per cent).
Angry expats in Spain hope to pit the country’s political parties against each other in an attempt to save their homes from demolition.
Protest group AUAN wants to put pressure on politicians in Andalucia by recruiting thousands of supporters in a voter registration drive. It aims to stop the junta regional government knocking down illegally-built houses owned by foreign residents.
“There are elections in May 2011 and we want to turn this into a do-or-die issue for the government by registering people to vote,” AUAN’s president, Maura Hillen, told OPP.
“There is some recognition by the opposition parties of the damage this is doing to the construction industry but the government shows no evidence of budging an inch. One of our objectives is to politicise the issue and to make it a problem for political parties in local towns so that it filters back up to the junta.”
More demolitions
Spain’s image as an overseas property destination has been hit repeatedly in the last few years by government attempts to counter widespread illegal building along the coast.
Five foreign residents living in Albox were handed demolition orders last week. Eight more from the town await a court hearing – despite hundreds of Malaga expats demonstrating in support for them last month.
Hillen said many more people could be persuaded to join the cause and AUAN is teaming up with similar groups such as SOHA in Axarquia to build support.
“It’s going to get worse before it gets better,” she said. “There are currently 300 households in our group but we estimate this affects around 5,000 in the area, so there could be a lot more publicity.
“The biggest problem we have within the expat community is apathy. Few people have yet woken up to the fact that this is a problem for them but the truth will out in time.”
The problem isn’t likely to disappear soon, she added. “The junta wants to solve this on a case-by-case basis and God knows how long it will take through the courts. It’s taken seven years to decide they are illegal and it could be several more before a decision is made on the demolitions.”
By Stephen Harris of www.opp.org.uk
Spanish bank agent Bancaja Habitat is attracting foreign buyers to its repossessed property stock with 85% loan-to-value mortgages.
Bancaja has sold around 40 units in the last three weeks to foreign and domestic buyers, who don’t have to start repaying the mortgage for three years.
The reluctance of Spanish banks to lend to foreigners at high loan-to-value rates is seen as a major obstacle to clearing the backlog of unsold and repossessed property in tourist areas. The number of new housing loans issued in Spain last year fell by 22%.
Since the start of the year, several banks have begun offering better mortgage deals and as much as 100% loan-to-value but often tied to specific developments.
“We’re still at a stage of the crisis where more stock is coming onto our books and the numbers are going up,” said Miguel Martínez-Mariño, country manager for Bancaja Habitat in the UK. “We have to take the initiative and ask what we can do to sell.”
So far most sales have been made in Spain, where the company has launched a nationwide advertising campaign across TV, radio and newspapers. But the agent is now hoping to attract to more British buyers and is also offering the deal through its Scandinavian offices.
Martínez said the mortgage offer had a positive reaction at last week’s A Place in the Sun exhibition in London. “We had around 70 enquiries and the majority of people were looking for finance. Their initial reaction to our deal was to ask ‘where’s the catch?’ They couldn’t believe it.”
Source: OPP
The transfer tax, or Impuesto de Transmisiones Patrimoniales (ITP), applicable to private real estate property sales, is for the time being in Andalucía a 7% of the value declared in the contract for private sales. However, as from March 19th, 2010 the tax has been raised to 8% for the stretch of the value of the real estate property that exceeds the amount of 400,000 Euros. The same new rate will apply to garages (except for those annexed to houses with a maximum of two units) for the stretch of the value of the real estate property that exceeds the amount of 30,000 Euros.
Concerning to the Income tax of Individuals, the percentages of general tax scale stay the same but the rate applicable to savings in personal income tax has increased. The applicable rate will be 19% for the first 6,000 Euros of yield, and 21% on the excess. These tax rates, in harmony – this time – with the EU rules, are applicable to non-residents income tax payers in the case of dividends, interests and economic gains obtained in Spain, which shall be taxed at the flat rate of 19%.
The retention rate in personal income tax rises up to 19% in order to equal the new tax rate in what refers to:
a) The capital formation yields.
b) The capital gains arising from transmissions or refunds of shares and participations on collective investment enterprises.
c) The income from lease or sublease of urban real estate.
This new type of retention will also apply to retentions and advanced tax payments relating to corporation tax.
Equally controversial than when it was approved has been the removal of the 400 Euros tax deduction applicable to income from work performance and economic activities for those taxpayers with taxable amount exceeding 12,000 Euros. The effect we have seen in the payroll of Spanish workers from last January.
To encourage recruitment, the new rules in the area of personal income tax and only for the 2009-2011 tax periods bring a tax reduction on the NET performance of economic activities in case of creation or maintenance of job. This measure has retroactive effect as of 1 January 2009. In order to qualify, the next requisites are needed: I) exercise of an economic activity, II) business total turnover for all economic activities performed of less than EUR 5 million, III) less than 25 employees, IV) maintenance or creation of employment in such exercises. The new rules implement a reduced type of tax charge for 2009 to 2011 periods if the above requirements are met. The scale of tax applied to these entities is as follows:
I) Tax base between 0 and 120,202.41: 20%
II) Excess: 25%
Could the Spanish Football League still attract the best in the world once the special legal arrangements for Inpatriated people or “Beckham law” has been modified with effect 1 January 2010? In this respect the novelty is that those workers whose predictable fees will exceed 600,000 Euros per year shall not be eligible for the special scheme of taxation (flat rate of 24%).
It is provided that with effect from 1 July 2010, despite criticism emanating from all sectors, an increase in the rate of general Value Added Tax from 16% to 18% is taking place. On the other side, the reduced tax rate will raise from 7% to 8%.
The Act of Payment Services is the transposition of the European Directive 2007/64/EC.
This new legislation came into force on 3 December 2009 and applies to 30 countries of the European economic area: 27 that make up the European Union plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. It directly affects our operational with the banks. By way of summary:
The regulation applies to the following payment systems.
* Transfers
* Direct debits
* Payments with debit and credit cards
Its entry into force involves a series of changes in business practices of the specified payment instruments, including:
1. Shared expenses (SHARE): the costs of emission of transfers, should they exist, are shared between the payer and the payee, as per the criteria applied by the respective financial institutions.
2. Transfers are paid in accordance with the identification code provided by customers: the number of account (C.C.C.) or the IBAN.
The international code of Bank Account is the number of international identification of bank accounts. All bank account has an IBAN, but it does not replace the current code account customer (C.C.C.). It comprises 34 contiguous characters maximum bearing a fixed length in each country.
3. Orders will be executed within 3 working days from receipt.
4. Payments covered by this system are credited with the value date on which the amount of the transaction is received in our entity (in the case of non-business day shall be paid with date value of the next business day).
5 .You shall have a period of 8 calendar weeks to request the return of any receipt.
Source > Ing Direct
(From OPP News)
Buyers in Spain could be able to secure 100% mortgages for the first time during the downturn thanks to a new developer-bank partnership.
Customers buying from UK-based developer Almanzora Group will be able to apply for 100% loan-to-value finance through the Bank of Andalusia on properties with discounts of up to 55% off peak price.
The developer has been selling around three properties per week since the start of the year and hopes the new mortgage offer will provide an extra boost to the market. The large discounts make the properties more affordable and so the bank can feel more confident about buyers’ ability to repay the loan, said Almanzora’s sales and marketing manager Simon Coaker.
“In some cases, the mortgage available is larger than the amount actually payable by the purchaser,” he said. “This is because, following last year’s price reductions, current prices of a number of properties are actually lower than the bank valuations.”
Bank incentives
Although the number of mortgages issued in Spain rose year-on-year for the first time in two years in November 2009, such high loan-to-value rates have become almost unheard of in Spain due to increased conservatism among lenders. However, banks are more likely to lend to customers buying repossessed properties or from developers backed by bank funding.
“There are some 85% loan-to-value loans available for bank-owned properties but generally there is still little movement in the market,” said Clare Nessling, operations director for international mortgage broker Conti.
Coaker told OPP that Almanzora was in partnership with the Bank of Andalusia to fund certain elements of its projects, but that the bank also wanted to take advantage of the sales opportunity.
“The banks have seen us doing well and are interested in dealing with our clients,” he said. “Some of our own mortgages are with the Bank of Andalusia but they have competed against other banks for our customers’ business.”
Addressing the long-term sustainability of such large price reductions, he said: “We wanted to create real interest in the property so have allied a mortgage product to selective discounts that will incentivise the market. But we think the 55% discounted stock will sell very quickly and we anticipate raising prices hopefully by mid-year.”
The Spanish Council of Ministers adopted a Royal Decree to complete the transposition of Community directives known as ‘VAT package’ referred to in the new system of ‘one-stop shop’ to enable the return of VAT quotas to European businessmen, announced the Executive in a note. The new system applies to employers established in the peninsula and the Balearic Islands when they supported VAT charges in other EU countries.
In a verdict released several days ago, the Chamber of civil matters of the High Court partially admits the appeal filed by the Spanish Organization of consumers and users (OCU) against the decision of the provincial court of Madrid who had declared as valid several reported clauses in the year 2005.
Amongst the clauses now voided by the Supreme Court are the ones that exclusively penalised the owners of credit or debit cards for the damage carried by its fraudulent misuse as long as those circumstances were not communicated to the bank. The verdict establishes that “the existence of a loss or theft must be communicated without undue delay since the disappearance is known”.
However, the verdict declares that “clauses totally exempting the Bank of liability indiscriminately and without nuance or modulation are abusive” and “disproportionate”, since “there are very frequent cases where the bank’s diligence warned about undue uses and even warned users, who were unaware”.
The Court situates on the same line those clauses that exclude “whatever the case” the responsibility of the bank when the PIN or card password is obtained by coercion or force majeure.
Magistrates insist that “is noteworthy that, in certain circumstances, banks can warn undue uses using the diligence which from them is enforceable in harmony with their experience and technical resources”.
Pretext to rescind the contract
In thye paragraph about mortgages, the magistrates declared abusive those clauses prohibiting the leasing of mortgaged estates, even though they admit such deeds can decrease the value of the property. Therefore they argue that these clauses should establish how much rent must the owner demand in order to correct the “decreasing value” the lease may cause the bank in the case of non-payment of the loan and of need to repossess the property.
The Supreme Court also rejects that banks include contract clauses regarding the resignation of customers receiving a mortgage or other loans about being informed of these being transferred to another bank or entity. “Its unfairness is unquestionable” because “it implies a waiver or limitation of the rights of the consumer”, the judgment argues.
Another voided condition in the loans paragraph it the one allowing Banco Santander to compensate receivables from clients with those positive balances held in other products, even if they were not their only holders. The Supreme Court understands that this type of clause is valid only if they are “transparent, clear, concrete and simple”, conditions that the wording of the clause of Banco Santander was not meeting.
The Court also termed as “illicit” the power of a bank to resolve in advance term-granted loans when an embargo of the borrower’s assets occurs or his solvency is diminished by any cause.
In this regard, judges believe that this condition is looking for “any negative impact on the borrower’s heritage, actual or potential, can serve as an excuse” to have the contract early terminated, thus ”giving the financial institution a discretionary and disproportionate power (…)”.